Charleston Preservation Society Preservation Pedal

This is your chance to be a modern-day Paul Revere, as you mount your aluminum horses and sound the alarm on the potential threats to Charleston’s beautiful waterfront at the Preservation Society of Charleston’s Preservation Pedal. This awareness bike ride, which coincides with the release date of the Preservation Society’s Historic Waterfront mobile app, is being held in honor of Watch Day, a new global initiative of the World Monuments Fund. Sadly, the historic district of Charleston was added to the 2012 Watch List due to growing concerns about the impact of cruise ship tourism. This potential threat has also garnered Charleston a Watch Status by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The bike ride will begin at White Point Gardens and meander alongside historic wharves, monumental maritime buildings, and significant private homes. “The Historic Waterfront Preservation Pedal is particularly powerful because of how our waterfront transitions as you pedal from White Point Gardens, down East Bay, through busy commercial zones, and finally along the industrial wharves on the Cooper River,” says the Preservation Society’s Kate Dellas. “It cues people to think about the preservation of historic sites, but also about land use, urban planning, and environmental protection.” Bike rentals will be available for an extra fee, and you’ll get to re-fuel with breakfast at the ride’s endpoint, the Immigration Station on the Cooper River, which is celebrating its centennial as a maritime landmark.